slow down | lando norris

twenty-two.

The light of his phone illuminated Lando's face as he answered her facetime call. He blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness and letting out a low groan at the sudden intrusion of his slumber.

"Are you in danger? You know it's the middle of the night here," he rasped, attempting to rub the sleep from his eyes. He covered his yawn with his free hand, his other holding the phone just a short distance from his face.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I just need ten minutes of your time," Lexi apologized, attempting to hide the excitement in her voice. She did truly feel bad about waking him up in the middle of the night, but she reminded herself to keep the conversation short so he could go back to the beauty rest in no time.

"It can't wait until the morning?" His voice was slowly gaining back its strength as he squinted at her face on the screen with a half-smile.

The question was rhetorical, but she didn't need to know that. Even in his still drowsy state he could tell she was clearly excited about something, so he'd indulge her if it meant getting to see her so happy. If she was waking him up fully knowing the time difference, he could only assume that she really couldn't hold it.

Lexi shook her head with a pout, setting the box on the kitchen island. She made quick work of propping her phone up against the decorative books before sitting down. As she settled on the stool, she adjusted the phone angle so that both the box and her face were in frame.

"I thought about it, I really did. But you and I both know I'm not patient enough for that, and I also know you'd be upset if you didn't get to see my reaction to whatever this is," she explained, tapping the box in front of her.

Lando perked up as the sleep retreated from his brain. Of course, the package he had sent to her home before he left for China. It had completely slipped his mind and he was expecting it to get delivered right before race day.

"Well go on then, let's get her open," he encouraged, a full smile on his face now.

He turned to his side, reaching for the nightstand to turn on the bedside lamp. A silent curse was mumbled under his breath as the bright light attacked him once more, blinding him for a moment.

Lexi couldn't help but giggle at him, only mildly distracted by the light illuminating his exposed collarbone that peeked through the covers. A light stubble created a shadow on the lower half of his face. While she would complain about it in most circumstances because she preferred his boyish look without it, he did look a little sexy with it right now. Not that she'd willingly admit that to him.

Clearing her throat and her thoughts, she shook herself out of the trance and began carefully cutting the tape with a box cutter, opening up the cardboard cell. "I'm going to be so mad if this is anything with your face on it," she warned. Earlier in the week, they had talked about the one Japanese fan that sported a hoodie with George Russell's face all over it with the cute baby. 

While she respected the look, she was not willing to support him in the same way. Lexi had made it very clear that he was not allowed to waste any money on something like that because she would never wear it, especially in public. 

Lando responded with a breathy laugh, but assured her that there was nothing with his face on it in the package.

The curiosity was written all over her features because she had no idea what might be inside. Her hands reached inside and took out the contents, the feel of various fabrics confirming what they were.

A chuckle escaped her as she pulled out and surveyed the merchandise. To take inventory, there was a black bucket hat and baseball cap with the McLaren logo, the hoodie in collaboration with Abercrombie she adored, and a white t-shirt with McLaren formula 1 team branding. Perfect for casual support.